The Crucifer of Blood (TV 1991)

A beautiful young woman asks Holmes to help her father, a former army captain and hopeless opium addict break free of the curse surrounding a stolen treasure.

Director:

Fraser Clarke Heston

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel), Paul Giovanni (play),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Richard Johnson, Susannah Harker

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charlton Heston	...	Sherlock Holmes
Richard Johnson	...	Dr. Watson
Susannah Harker	...	Irene St. Claire
Edward Fox	...	Alistair Ross
John Castle	...	Neville St. Claire
Simon Callow	...	Inspector Lestrade
Clive Wood	...	Jonathan Small
James Coyle	...	Birdy Johnson
Kaleem Janjua	...	Durga Dass
Stefan Kalipha	...	Wali Dad
Lloyd McGuire	...	P.C. Hopkins
Kiran Shah	...	Tonga
Sidney Livingstone	...	Mordecai Smith
Roly Lamas	...	Leper

Storyline

Beautiful, young Irne St. Claire enlists Holmes' and Watson's help for her father, a former veteran of the Great Indian Mutiny, who has become a hopeless opium addict. His drug dependence is a direct result of guilt and fear arising from a blood pact of secrecy made during the siege of Agra in 1857 in which he was party to the theft of a maharajah's treasure, murder, and betrayal. When an avaricious co-conspirator dies under mysterious circumstances, St. Clair is certain that the curse will strike him next.

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Plot Keywords:

opium | treasure | curse | year 1857 | detective series | 

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Taglines:

This is one mystery that it NOT elementary, my dear Watson...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

El crucifijo de sangre

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agamemnon Films, British Lion Film Corporation, Lynch Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Heston played Holmes in the Los Angeles theatrical version of the play in preparation for the role.

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Quotes

Sherlock Holmes: One big vice in a man leaves no room for smaller ones.
[as Lestrade enters]
Sherlock Holmes: I refer to stupidity.

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Connections

Version of Priklyucheniya Sherloka Kholmsa i doktora Vatsona: Sokrovishcha Agry (1983)

User Reviews

The Crucifer of Blood (1990) **1/2

**1/2 out of ****

Speaking as someone who is not necessarily the most well-read follower of all things Sherlock Holmes, but who is indeed a fan of Charlton Heston's work, this was an okay presentation featuring Heston as the legendary detective. Here, he joins up with Richard Johnson (as Dr. Watson) in unraveling the mystery of a 30-year-old curse involving a pretty young woman (Susannah Harker) and her aging father, who once made a blood pact with another man and whose life might be in jeopardy.

For me it was fun just getting to see Heston as the calculating Holmes, and as someone who enjoys the old Basil Rathbone series of films, this retained a lot of similar ingredients such as Watson being slightly clueless, and Inspector Lestrade (Simon Callow) being made to look rather foolish around Holmes. Dr. Watson also gets to fall in love this time around. This being a Turner TV movie, it sometimes has the feeling of being rather slight or artificial in spots. Directed by Charlton's son, Fraser Heston.